(Praxeology) - '..the behaviorist and the experimentalists versus the praxeologists and the philosophers..'

'..that understanding is the only appropriate method in dealing with the uncertainty of future conditions.'

- Amanda Achtman (<a href="[www.youtube.com]; – 17:58), “Human Action Versus Behaviourialism: Can Praxeology and Experimental Economics be Reconciled?”, University of Calgary, 2013



'..this debate is interesting that the behaviorist and the experimentalists versus the praxeologists and the philosophers are in an interesting debate that matters not only for economics but for the age old debate between to what extend can the social science and should the social sciences if at all imitate or use the same methodologies as the natural sciences and I argue that they need be distinct.'

'So the actions of persons when it is free and spontaneous is unpredictable.

Because persons act preferences cannot be calculated and I argue that the trend within Austrian Economics to move towards behavioralism and particularly experimental economics is a departure from the fundamental principles of human action within the Austrian School and this matters because it is a threat to human liberty.

..this debate is interesting that the behaviorist and the experimentalists versus the praxeologists and the philosophers are in an interesting debate that matters not only for economics but for the age old debate between to what extend can the social science and should the social sciences if at all imitate or use the same methodologies as the natural sciences and I argue that they need be distinct. This matters for sweeping studies within the humanities and we can wonder about what it means to be acting persons with these increasing studies being done. What is the interplay between our reason and our will, between knowledge and our preferences and how can these questions help to promote human freedom rather than paternalistic policies. And I think that its with the rise of experimental economics that we come to see more and more of an emphasis on human beings as calculators rather than actors. And that this is a threat to human liberty because when the results of these studies are extrapolated within society, more knowledge than we can possible have, as Hayek has argued in the past, is ascertained. And this is dangerous for public policy and for our personal liberty.'

- Amanda Achtman (<a href="[www.youtube.com]; – 2:51), “Human Action Versus Behaviourialism: Can Praxeology and Experimental Economics be Reconciled?”, University of Calgary, 2013



'Our modern scientistic and positivistic prejudices which have infiltrated or which we have embraced so readily within the social sciences and which are threatening a more humane approach to these disciplines.'

'..the centrality on .. human willfulness and intentionality not on rationality. And Mises said right in Human Action as well that there is an overemphasis on rationality. He said: 'It is true that some philosophers were ready to overrate the power of human reason.'^[1] And that is certainly true within a democracy so praxeology, he said, is indifferent to the ultimate goals of human action .. economics .. a science concerned with means not with ends if its to be about human liberty.

..

Our modern scientistic and positivistic prejudices which have infiltrated or which we have embraced so readily within the social sciences and which are threatening a more humane approach to these disciplines.'

- Amanda Achtman (<a href="[www.youtube.com]; – 8:04), “Human Action Versus Behaviourialism: Can Praxeology and Experimental Economics be Reconciled?”, University of Calgary, 2013



'..by rational we mean that with agency humans tend towards their preferences.'

'Mises is saying that human action is always rational if by rational we mean that with agency humans tend towards their preferences. And that's what he says is purposeful behavior is. It's willfulness plus agency, that might mean you make really stupid decisions and arrive at really inefficient outcomes. But purposive behavior is willful and requires agency and that's how you get there.'

- Amanda Achtman (<a href="[www.youtube.com]; – 10:00), “Human Action Versus Behaviourialism: Can Praxeology and Experimental Economics be Reconciled?”, University of Calgary, 2013



'..intention, properly speaking, is an act of the will.'

'..to even Thomas Aquinas where many of these thinkers getting their anthropology of the human person and Thomas Aquinas in his <a href="[www.newadvent.org] .. intention</a>, properly speaking, is an act of the will.'

- Amanda Achtman(<a href="[www.youtube.com]; – 11:21), “Human Action Versus Behaviourialism: Can Praxeology and Experimental Economics be Reconciled?”, University of Calgary, 2013



Note

[1] <blockquote>III. ECONOMICS AND THE REVOLT AGAINST REASON

1. The Revolt Against Reason

It is true that some philosophers were ready to overrate the power of human reason. They believed that man can discover by ratiocination the final causes of cosmic events, the inherent ends the prime mover aims at in creating the universe and determining the course of its evolution. They expatiated on the "Absolute" as if it were their pocket watch. They did not shrink from announcing eternal absolute values and from establishing moral codes unconditionally binding on all men.

- Ludwig von Mises, Human Action, Page 72</blockquote>



Context '..[Freedom], human values [versus] a particular psychopath’s individual delusions.'

'One reason why we should keep international human values (e.g. ethics), science and journalism (i.e. keeping in touch with reality, rather than political ideology), and respect to the process of law as our most valuable and precious possessions. The alternative is the expendability of the individual, including you and me, for no other reason except a particular psychopath’s individual delusions.'

‘a storm wrecked beach’ - Lenin, Stalin, and Hitler</blockquote>



'..his greatest concern: freedom and free enterprise.'

'Ludwig von Mises was born on September 29, 1881, in Lemberg in what was then Austria-Hungary. Together with his younger brother Richard, who lived to become a great mathematician, he received a thorough education. From 1892 to 1900 he attended the “Akademische Gymnasium” in Vienna to prepare himself for the university. Upon graduation he studied law and economics at the University of Vienna. On February 20, 1906, the University conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Law and Social Sciences, or, as the traditional Latin title goes, of Both Laws, i.e., of Roman and Canon Laws. In commemoration of this event in the life of Luwdig von Mises some of his friends and disciples have prepared this volume the title of which indicates his greatest concern: freedom and free enterprise.'

- Mary Sennholz, Dedication – On Freedom and Free Enterprise, February 20, 1956, page ix


The Journal of Prices & Markets

(Haptopraxeology) - '..the near entirety of the social science community betrayed humanity .. failed .. to fulfill their vital scientific duty..'